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Kalakacharya was a Jain monk in Ujjain which was ruled by Gardabilla at that time. Gardabilla went to the Jain ashram and abducted Kalakcharya’s sister Sarasvati.

Though most of the Jains at that time were Kshatrias (warrior caste),they followed non- violence. So Kalakacharya went to the king and asked him to return his sister but he refused like Ravana. He even insulted him.

In the Ramayana we see that Rama sends messengers to Ravana to return Sita but he refused and brought his own destruction.

Angered by the king’s insult, Kalakacharya went to a nearby kingdom and asked him to invade Gardabilla’s kingdom. The neighbour king was a ruler from Saka race. He told Kalakacharya that he had not got enough strength or army to invade Gardabilla. Then Kalakacharya himself took over as the commander of the army and invaded the kingdom of Gardabilla. This brought down Gardabilla’s rule. But Kalakacharya pardoned him. The defeated Gardabilla went to the forest to spend rest of his life where he was killed by a tiger. His son Vikramaditya had to live with the animals.

Later Vikaramaditya gathered enough soldiers and invaded his father’s kingdom and defeated the Saka ruler. This victory was celebrated by starting a new era called Vikrama era from first century BCE.

Manu, author of the first Law Book in the world and Tiruvalluvar, author of the Tamil Veda Tirukkural say that one must not estrange good people or saints. If they do that then their kingdoms will perish along with them. Manu gives the examples of Nahusa, Sumuka, Vena and other bad kings.

Tiruvalluvar in his Tamil Veda says,

Even kings, who rest on solid supports, will not be saved,

if men of spiritual power frown upon them – (Kural 900)

If principled men of lofty spirituality and penance are angered

Even a king will be ruined and destroyed (Kural 899)

The story of Kalakacharya’s victory over Gardabilla is found in Jain and Hindu literature of tenth and 12th Centuries, i.e. 1000 or 1500 years after Emperor Vikramaditya. So we don’t know the full story. But the miniature paintings of Kalakacharya are found in many museums around the world including Brooklyn museum in the US.